Rough Situation...Chances?

[UWM9109]

So in a nut shell, my first two years at UW Madison weren't the greatest. I was part of an athletic team and my transition from high school to college took awhile to actually settle in. I started my freshman year with a cumulative GPA of 3.0, and then my sophomore year when my athletic schedule got more demanding, dropped the cumulative GPA to a 2.7. I'm about to finish my junior year and am on the way of getting two consecutive 4.0 semesters with an 18 credit course load consisting of all upper level bio/science courses (I dropped the athletic team to focus on my grades). I took a practice mcat exam and received a 34 (although i'm confident that with more practice i'll perform much better) and am an underrepresented minority (hispanic). I've calculated my cGPA after this semester and unfortunately, even after two potential 4.0 semesters, am looking at a 3.1 cGPA. I'm not sure if this grade trend is good enough to render me a competitive applicant, although I know that my last two semesters demonstrate my capability to perform well in rigorous courses.

I have a lot of leadership and volunteer experience, both clinical and though other areas.I work at the university hospital in the clinical laboratory, am certified in phlebotomy and personal training, and fluent in two language (spanish and french). I also have around 50 hours of shadowing in addition to being pretty involved around campus. My dream has always been medical school, and i'd hate to take a year off because of a bad start in school. What do you guys think are my chances?

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[jdspring]

If I were in your position, I would focus on maintaining excellent grades and punctuating that improvement with an excellent MCAT score. It sounds like you have a lot going for you, and your personal trajectory and struggles (transitioning to college, struggling with an athletic team) make a lot of sense to me. Maybe that transition should be what you focus on in your personal statement.

Good luck!

 

[UWM9109]

jdspring, Thank you very much! That's definitely a confidence booster, I appreciate it

 

[Goro]

Concur strongly..the perfect upward trend, plus an excellent MCAT, should make you competetive.

If I were in your position, I would focus on maintaining excellent grades and punctuating that improvement with an excellent MCAT score. It sounds like you have a lot going for you, and your personal trajectory and struggles (transitioning to college, struggling with an athletic team) make a lot of sense to me. Maybe that transition should be what you focus on in your personal statement.

Good luck!

 

[Pattycake25]

So in a nut shell, my first two years at UW Madison weren't the greatest. I was part of an athletic team and my transition from high school to college took awhile to actually settle in. I started my freshman year with a cumulative GPA of 3.0, and then my sophomore year when my athletic schedule got more demanding, dropped the cumulative GPA to a 2.7. I'm about to finish my junior year and am on the way of getting two consecutive 4.0 semesters with an 18 credit course load consisting of all upper level bio/science courses (I dropped the athletic team to focus on my grades). I took a practice mcat exam and received a 34 (although i'm confident that with more practice i'll perform much better) and am an underrepresented minority (hispanic). I've calculated my cGPA after this semester and unfortunately, even after two potential 4.0 semesters, am looking at a 3.1 cGPA. I'm not sure if this grade trend is good enough to render me a competitive applicant, although I know that my last two semesters demonstrate my capability to perform well in rigorous courses.

I have a lot of leadership and volunteer experience, both clinical and though other areas.I work at the university hospital in the clinical laboratory, am certified in phlebotomy and personal training, and fluent in two language (spanish and french). I also have around 50 hours of shadowing in addition to being pretty involved around campus. My dream has always been medical school, and i'd hate to take a year off because of a bad start in school. What do you guys think are my chances?

The others have given you a good assessment, especially from a URM perspective. Keep it up with the ECs and maintaining excellent grades, knock out the MCAT, and you will be fine. =)